Material spreaders, whether of the pull type or self propelled, are in common use for applying dressings to turfs such as ground surfaces used for various athletic activities, and especially on the various ground surfaces forming golf courses. Such spreaders commonly include a hopper and a moving belt which passes under the hopper for carrying material which has been dumped into the hopper to a point exterior of the hopper where the material is engaged by means, such as a rotating brush, for transferring the material from the belt to the ground surface.
In order to maintain the maximum quality of turf conditions on golf courses, various techniques of best applying different materials are developing. Known spreaders, are usually equipped with a conventionally structured rotating brush which is usually mounted at the rear of the moving belt with its central axes of rotation spaced behind and somewhat above the upper belt surface carrying a layer of material from the hopper. The brush is located relative to the belt so that outer ends of bristles of the brush engage the particles of the material nearing a drop-off point on the belt and fling the particles downwardly into the turf. It has been found that depending on the type of material being dispensed, the condition of the turf, the required density of the material on the turf, etc., better results of applying the material can be achieved under some conditions if a different process of broadcasting the material is used.
The design characteristics and location of the brushes utilized for dispersing the material from moving belts have remained generally constant and have been provided in the main for driving the particles of the material downward with a force sufficient to penetrate to the base of the turf While this type of broadcasting of the material has advantages under some conditions, such as that of filling holes left after aerofication by use of a heavy application, such broadcasting is certainly not most desirable under all conditions.
In the main with known top dressers, provisions have not been made for modification of the machine for achieving the spreading of the material in a manner providing different characteristics of application. Generally personnel utilized in turf grooming are not sufficiently skilled in machine maintenance and servicing to undertake work involving any mechanical complexity, and therefore, if major changes are required or are of a time consuming nature, it would be usual practice to use the machine for top dressing only in the manner for which the machine was basically designed.
Also, available top dressers now in use on golf course turf groomers are not overall constructed for ready service and maintenance. One component of such machines, for example, requiring routine servicing and repair or replacement of parts, is the moving belt which carries the material from the hopper and the related parts for mounting and driving the belt, due to this components continued exposure to abrasive particles, dust and the like. In known structures, this component's particular location requires a major dissembling of the overall machine for removal of the belt and associated parts, thus resulting in work usually beyond the ability of the available staff at a golf course.